Source: The Japan Times

The health ministry conditionally approved the world’s first clinical study to treat patients with corneal disease by using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, according to a report in The Japan Times.

The study, to be conducted by a team of researchers from Osaka University, will be the sixth time the government has authorized clinical studies using iPS cells.

The team will transplant 0.05-mm-thick layers of corneal tissue produced from iPS cells into four adult patients who suffer from a disease that causes corneal haze and decreased vision.